Welcome back to “The Week in Horror,” HitFix's ongoing series that rounds up the 10 most pertinent fright-genre stories to break over the last seven days. In this week's edition: Even more “Alien 5” news, our favorite supernatural horror remake gets a bump and what “Parks and Recreation” star is appearing in a movie about a pagan demon who murders children? See below for the full roundup.
1. Sigourney Weaver says Neill Blomkamp's “Alien” sequel will “break new ground”
“I can”t think of a better director,” Weaver told Variety “He”s a real fan. I think he”ll be true to the world and take it in unexpected directions. It”s got a lot of sinew in it. It will certainly stand up to the others and probably break a lot of new ground as well.” On a related note, is Michael Biehn reprising his role as Hicks? Will there be more than one film? I'd be excited for all this, except that I've seen Blomkamp's last two movies.
[Variety]
2. “Poltergeist” gets new date
The Gil Kenan-directed remake will now be in theaters on May 22 — a full two months earlier than expected.
3. NBC's “Hannibal” and “Aquarius” get summer premiere dates
The Charles Manson series “Aquarius” starring David Duchovny drops Thursday, May 28 at 9pm, while “Hannibal” Season 3 starring newly-minted series regular Gillian Anderson begins Thursday, June 4 at 10. It's a Mulder and Scully reunion, kind of! Also of note on the “Hannibal” front: Sylar himself is set to appear in at least one Season 3 episode as a patient of Anderson's character Bedilia.
4. Watch the first trailer for “Salem” Season 2
“Often the most fearsome landscapes are hiding the most succulent gardens” is my new pickup line. Did you know Lucy Lawless is in this?
5. “Krampus” bags a “Parks and Rec” vet
Adam Scott (“Parks and Rec”), David Koechner (“Anchorman”) and Stefania Owen (“The Carrie Diaries”) are set to star in the upcoming horror film directed by Michael Dougherty, who previously helmed the cult Halloween-themed anthology “Trick 'r Treat.” They join previously-cast stars Allison Tolman (FX's “Fargo”) and Emjay Anthony (“Chef”) in the Christmas-themed horror film, which is based on an “ancient legend about a pagan demon who punishes wicked children.” Sounds like my kind of movie.
[The Wrap]
6. “Ginger Snaps” star Kris Lemche to star in “Tales from the Darkside”
The Canadian thesp has been cast as Newman, the sole regular character in the CW's reboot of the '80s horror anthology series that comes from writer Joe Hill (“Horns”) and producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (“Lost,” “Star Trek”). “Newman – a man with his own desperate, wrenching secrets – knows exactly what”s causing the terrifying Darkside Events that drive the series,” reads the description. “What he doesn”t know is how to stop them.” A-booga-booga!
[Deadline]
7. Bruce Willis making Broadway debut in “Misery”
The always-terrifying “Die Hard” star is set to play the role originated by James Caan in a stage adaptation of Stephen King's 1987 novel, in which a famous writer is terrorized by his No. 1 fan in a snowbound cabin. Stage veteran Elizabeth Marvel will play Annie Wilkes, the role that netted Kathy Bates an Oscar in 1991. Now take a moment to mesmerize yourself with this perfect GIF.
8. Tribeca's Midnight lineup unleashed
Deranged babysitters (“Emelie”), giant killer wasps (“Stung”) and a kidnapping scheme gone wrong (“Scherzo Diabolico”), oh my! Check out the full lineup here.
[Tribeca]
9. Meet your new “Frankenstein['s Monster]”
“True Blood” Season 6 star Rob Kazinsky [a.k.a. Faerie-vampire hybrid Macklyn Warlow] will play an “athletic, strong and handsome” variation on the iconic monster in FOX's new drama pilot from Rand Ravich and Howard Gordon (“Life”). He's the hottest science experiment ever!
10. Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox to perform an 'Autopsy'
The recently-controversial Hirsch (“Into the Wild”) and Brian Cox (“The Bourne Identity”) are set to star in “The Autopsy of Jane Doe,” which will serve as the English-language debut of Andrew Øvredal, the Norwegian director who helmed the stellar 2011 mockumentary “Trollhunter.” The actors will play father-and-son coroners who discover that their latest subject, a beautiful “Jane Doe” who died under mysterious circumstances, is full of “terrifying secrets.” Like me…
[Deadline]